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There are four games left in the NFL regular season for each team, and perhaps no squad will be focused on more than the Kansas City Chiefs.
Not only will there be a new winner of the AFC West for the first time in nine seasons, the Chiefs are in danger of missing the playoffs altogether after losing to the Houston Texans in Week 14.
Kansas City sits at 6-7, meaning they will likely need to win out while hoping some other teams lose to help their playoff chances. It can certainly be done, but the question is, how do they make it happen?
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Robert Griffin III on ESPN Monday Night Football Countdown put SoFi Stadium. (Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports)
Robert Griffin III, the former NFL quarterback and current FOX Sports analyst, has been studying the Chiefs all season, as have many others. With the Chiefs not being their usual dominant selves this year, Pakinomist Digital asked the 2011 Heisman Trophy winner what he sees as a glaring problem for the team right now.
“Predictability,” Griffin quickly replied as he helped USAA provide two military veterans with new vehicles before the 126th Army-Navy game this weekend. “I’m pretty happy with Kansas City and I think there’s an element of predictability right now.”
Griffin knows head coach Andy Reid and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy are some of the most creative minds in the league, but he explained why he sees this Chiefs offense as predictable.
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“The offense really hasn’t been super explosive consistently since Tyreek Hill left, but they’ve been able to think and pound, run really good concepts, use Rashee Rice and Travis Kelce, and Xavier Worthy and Juju Smith-Schuster and Tyquan Thornton in different ways to make it hard to cover because you have to be prepared for everything,” Griffin said. “But you know when Tyquan Thornton comes into the game, it’s going to be this. You know when Xavier Worthy comes into the game, it’s going to be this.”
To Griffin’s point, the home run threat Hill provided in the years before he was traded to the Miami Dolphins made the Chiefs a laughingstock, while MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes became arguably the best at his position in the league.
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) warms up prior to the game against the Houston Texans at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. (Amy Kontras/Imagn Images)
But Hill’s absence hasn’t hurt the Chiefs in the record column, having won the past three AFC Championship Games. But the Chiefs find themselves in a different position now, more than bordering on desperation with their Super Bowl hopes hanging in the balance.
So what exactly should they do going forward? Griffin has a proposal that revolves around Mahomes.
“This is just a suggestion from a guy who’s played a ton of football, who’s watched a ton of football and studied them all year, I think the Kansas City Chiefs need to change their offense to a two-minute offense,” he said. “Allow Patrick Mahomes to do what he does best, run up-tempo, call what he sees. He’s at a point in his career where he can see it and he can make the calls and the adjustments and control everything on the field. I think that will also ease some of the pressure on their offensive line, tire out the defense.
“At the end of the day, they have to cede some control to Patrick so he can have complete ownership of it. If he wants to drive without fuss, two minutes, they should let him do it. That’s when they’re at their best right now.”
Griffin’s thought process is: “No team wants to be close to the Chiefs with two minutes left in the game. As soon as they see that, they’re like, ‘Oh hell, here we go.’
But Mahomes also needs some help from his teammates, as the loss to the Texans on “Sunday Night Football” featured key drops from Rashee Rice and Travis Kelce, both favorites in the passing game.
Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid against the Arizona Cardinals during a preseason NFL game at State Farm Stadium. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)
The Chiefs understand the situation they’re in, but we’ve seen Mahomes and company run in the win column since he took over as the starting quarterback.
The adjustments will be tested at Arrowhead Stadium again on Sunday when the Chiefs host their AFC West rival Los Angeles Chargers, who are also looking to help their playoff hopes with a 9-4 record after a big overtime win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.
HELPING THOSE WHO SERVE US
Griffin was back in Baltimore, where he spent the remaining years of his NFL playing career, to show honor through action in the tradition of the annual Army-Navy Game by gifting two recycled rides with USAA, the official Salute to Service partner of the NFL.
Cryptological Technician Petty Officer First Class Jamil Lewis, currently serving in the Navy, and veteran Patrick Huber, Specialist 116th Infantry Regiment, Army National Guard, were both surprised by Griffin with the brand new vehicle at the Inner Harbor in front of the USS Constellation.
(Left to right) Mark Steiding of Kenwood Auto Body, NFL legend Robert Griffin III (RGIII), SPC Patrick Huber (veteran of the US Army National Guard), USAA Senior Vice President Rob Braggs and Dale Moss of NABC Recycled Rides pose at USAA’s Army-Navy Game NABC Recycled Rides Car De Gifting in Baltimore, De Gifting, Wednesday. 2025. (Edwin Remsberg)
Coming from a military background himself with his mom and dad in the Army, Griffin has long enjoyed his partnership with USAA and couldn’t be happier to help with this.
“I’ve been so honored to partner with USAA. We’ve been partners together for the last 13 years and I’m a guy who likes to do real, authentic partnerships. Military brat, mom and dad both served in the Army. So I’m a ‘Go Army, beat Navy’ guy – 31 years old, seeing the impact we’ve made over the last 3 years. things to let our military members know they’re not forgotten, it does something to me,” he explained. “If it does anything for me, it’s to do something for these families that we’re impacting, to make their lives a little bit easier. It’s not a free car. I say that because, yes, they didn’t have to pay money for it, but there were sacrifices for us and our freedoms to be able to get this type of treatment. We want them to know, ‘Hey,'” he appreciated.
